The Knesset Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee convened a heated and stormy session on Tuesday, focusing on two contentious issues currently facing the legal and political spheres: the government commission of inquiry into police use of spyware technologies, and the battle against organized crime in Arab society.
In attendance were Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara, State Attorney Amit Aisman, and committee chair Religious Zionist Party MK Simcha Rothman, who all clashed over accountability, transparency, and the rule of law.
The so-called “spyware affair” erupted in 2022 after revelations that police had allegedly used NSO Group’s Pegasus and similar cyber tools without proper court warrants against citizens, public officials, and activists. Following public outcry, a commission of inquiry was established to review the procurement, surveillance, and data collection practices used by law enforcement.
At Tuesday’s hearing, Rothman accused the A-G of withholding information from the Knesset and failing to comply with directives for more frequent convening of the interministerial and broad staff team charged with combating organized crime in the Arab sector. He also demanded explanations as to why Roi Kahlon, who heads the national task force on Arab sector crime, had not been regularly included in these meetings.
“I asked already last August 2024 for reports on the team’s activities, including protocols and budgetary breakdowns. Neither then nor now did I receive answers,” Rothman said. “How much funding is actually allocated to fighting crime in Arab society? What resources are at the disposal of the super-team? These remain unanswered.”
“The team met five times this year alone, with additional remote forums convening about 20 times,” Baharav-Miara said. “It is not feasible to convene every week, particularly under the current emergency conditions. All professional bodies are working closely together, and political figures cannot be included in operational teams,” she added.
The debate heated up when Rothman accused the attorney-general of selective interference in criminal investigations, citing her intervention in the police questioning of Channel 13 journalist Aviad Glickman, while allegedly ignoring other cases. Baharav-Miara firmly rejected the criticism, insisting that she would not discuss ongoing investigations in an open parliamentary forum.
Aisman addressed the committee on enforcement challenges, particularly within Arab society. He noted that in 2024 alone, the prosecution filed 42 indictments in murder cases – an 18% increase over the previous year – but that dozens of cases lacked sufficient evidence due to uncooperative witnesses and tampered crime scenes.
He also pointed to structural bottlenecks: while the police received over 1,100 new positions to fight organized crime, the prosecution was granted only 32, creating a bottleneck that slows case processing.
Committee members from across the political spectrum weighed in as well. The Democrats MK Efrat Rayten charged that the government has been shirking its responsibilities. “The government is not doing what it should, and instead looks for others to blame,” she said.
MK Tally Gotliv against Attorney-General’s Office
Likud MK Tally Gotliv argued that the Attorney-General’s Office had become too entangled with law enforcement figures to be able to truly act independently, while fellow Likud MK Moshe Saada accused Baharav-Miara and Aisman of betraying their duty to protect citizens. “Since you stopped using spyware, over 700 people have been murdered. These cases cannot be solved without such tools,” he charged.
Baharav-Miara rejected claims that her office was obstructing the spyware commission, explaining that the inquiry’s work is subject to eight injunctions by the High Court of Justice - including limits on examining ongoing criminal proceedings – and insisted that her team had provided all permissible materials to the relevant authorities, until the court halted the process.
Rothman asked, “How many court instructions did you fail to implement? How many times did you refuse to provide information before any order was even issued?”
The confrontation exemplified the profound and growing mistrust between the right-wing coalition leaders and the judicial establishment.
The spyware affair has become a focal point of these tensions: while civil liberties groups warned against unchecked surveillance powers, many lawmakers argued that restricting such technologies has hampered efforts to dismantle powerful Arab crime syndicates responsible for record levels of violence in recent years.
Much criticism has been levied back at the police, headed by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, for being both too understaffed and overwhelmed to properly crack down on the issue, and also for a failure by the minister to prioritize it.
Rothman vowed to continue pressing for transparency, saying, “These are matters of life and death. Five meetings a year are not enough. The government owes the public answers.”
The spyware commission remains under judicial supervision and its future remains uncertain, while the Arab sector continues to grapple with rising crime and record homicide rates.